


The Ashen Emperor And His Confidant

by Sarcasket



Series: Reign of the Ashen Emperor [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Byleth has so much backstory he should be like 40 at this point, Enlightened Byleth, I shall be making this series even Worse, In the light of the DLC, M/M, Rating May Change, Sothis is here again yay, emperor AU, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:53:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24425326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarcasket/pseuds/Sarcasket
Summary: A deeper look into the relationship of the imperial prince Byleth and his most loyal vassal, Hubert.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Hubert von Vestra
Series: Reign of the Ashen Emperor [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1615930
Kudos: 8





	The Ashen Emperor And His Confidant

Byleth sits in his chambers, waiting patiently.

His posture is rigid, but formal—as he has been taught. The world seemed so odd to him lately. So many things were happening around him—he was being dragged around, always getting ordered as to what he should do. He was mostly kept inside—where? Enbarr Palace, he was told. He was the heir apparent of the Adrestian throne, after all. It was an odd piece of information to him. Were his mind a jigsaw puzzle, this would be a mysterious piece that fit nowhere in the big picture. Or perhaps, he had a box of puzzle pieces and this was the only piece which actually belonged in that box.

Today, he was told he would meet his vassal. He was unsure what that meant. He has interacted with the palace servants before—really, most of the people he remembers ever interacting with are the palace servants. But his personal vassal? He was unsure how different that was to be from everyone else until now.

A knock on the door interrupts his thoughts.

“Come in.” The prince calls in a meek, monotone voice.

The door opens to reveal Lady Deirdre, the handmaiden. A little person trails in after her, piercing eyes poking from under a mop of sleek black hair. It takes a moment for Byleth’s mind to catch up with him—A child! The little person following after Lady Deirdre is a child, like himself. It has been long since he had seen another of his age. Last time was a brief interaction with the young heir of Aegir. He was a loud and eager boy, but he was promptly dragged away by Duke Aegir from the imperial prince.

_Sothis doesn’t really count as a child, even if she looks like one._

Byleth muses.

He rises from his seat, careful to keep his back straightened in the posture he was taught. Lady Deirdre smiles warmly and bows to him. Then she casts a gentle gaze at the raven-haired boy hiding behind her skirt. The pale boy stumbles from behind her, nervously palming at his own, clammy hands. His mouth quirks in some sort of tic and Byleth deduces he must be perplexed as to what expression he ought to make.

They make eye contact and the boy hastily scrambles to collect himself. He does his best to mimic Byleth’s stance, his lips quivering as he tries to will them into a straight line. He shakily bows his head low.

“M-Milord...” The boy stutters.

Lady Deirdre nods at him and ruffles his hair. The gesture does not seem to calm the boy down, however.

“I... I...” The boy struggles to find his voice, “I am... Hubert von Vestra.” He introduces himself.

Byleth nods in acknowledgement, patiently waiting for the boy to calm down once more.

“I... From today on. I-I shall be your vassal. I p-pledge myself to your services, now and forever. M-My loyalty shall always lie with y-you.” The boy huffs—he had tried to sigh in relief, but caught himself and muffled the action into a mere huff.

Byleth nods once more—he offers boy his hand. Instead of shaking it, little Hubert stumbles forward, taking the prince’s hand in his two clammy ones and presses a clumsy, wet kiss on it. Byleth reflexively retracts the hand, hastily wiping away at the spot.

“I-I am so sorry...!” Hubert gasps, bowing his head low, “D-Did I offend you...?! Shall I fetch you a handkerchief...?!”

_What an odd boy._

Sothis’ voice reverberates in Byleth’s mind, laced with amusement.

_It seems like he shall be your personal vassal from now on. But, oh my, he does not seem very reliable, does he? Then again, he is still very young._

“It is fine.” Byleth replies robotically, his hands dropping back to his sides.

_“You look just like her.”_

_A trembling voice, eyes full of tears._

_Those chapped, wet lips..._

Byleth yelps as a sudden headache overtakes him. He loses his balance and drops to his knees, cradling his head in his hands.

“Milord...!”

“Your Highness, what’s wrong?!”

 _Byleth?! Byleth! What was that just_ now _?! Byleth—!_

And then he blacks out.


End file.
